Selectable audio and mixed background sound for voice messaging system

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, computer program products, and methods of doing business by selectably mixing one or more sound files with a telephone caller&#39;s voice message, either as background for that message or embedded within the message. Or, the mixing may occur within a telephone conversation between parties. The disclosed techniques enable alleviating some of the problems that result from distance communication (as contrasted to face-to-face communication). In particular, context information (such as emotional context) can be provided through appropriate use of background sound and/or embedded audio files. The disclosed techniques may also make communication through voice mail exchange more enjoyable and/or increase its productivity.

RELATED INVENTIONS

[0001] The present invention is related to the followingcommonly-assigned U.S. Patents, both of which were filed concurrentlyherewith and are hereby incorporated herein by reference: U.S. ______(Ser. No. 09/______), entitled “Audio Renderings for ExpressingNon-Audio Nuances”, and U.S. ______ (Ser. No. 09/______), entitled“Recording and Receiving Voice Mail with Freeform Bookmarks”.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a computer system, and dealsmore particularly with methods, systems, computer program products, andmethods of doing business by selectably mixing one or more sound fileswith a telephone caller's voice message (or within the caller'sperson-to-person conversation), either as background for that message orembedded within the message.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] Face-to-face communication between people involves many parallelcommunication paths. We derive information from body language, fromwords, from intonation, from facial expressions, from the distancebetween our bodies, and so forth. Distance communication, such as phonecalls, e-mail exchange, and voice mail, on the other hand, involves onlya few of these communication paths. Users may therefore have to takeextra actions (which may or may not be successful) if they wish to tryto overcome the limitations so imposed.

[0006] Emotions may be particularly difficult to convey when usingdistance communication. For example, if a person is angry, it can bequite difficult to communicate that emotion in the words of an e-mailmessage. While a voice mail message has the advantage of conveying thespeaker's tone of voice, it still may not adequately represent thespeaker's emotion. As another example of the difficulties of distancecommunication, suppose a speaker has many different topics to cover.When communicating in person, the speaker can use changes in bodylanguage to indicate a change in subject. In a voice mail message,however, it may be difficult for the listener to appreciate when onetopic has ended and another has begun.

[0007] Distance communicating is becoming more prevalent in our society,Many people use mobile phones, answering machines, and/or sophisticatedvoice mail systems extensively today, and thus we have become accustomedto being able to reach someone (or at least their telephone recordingsystem) by phone at all times of the day or night. (Hereinafter, thephrase “voice mail system” will be used to refer to telephone recordingsystems which include computerized voice mail systems as well as simpleanswering machines, unless otherwise noted.) A caller might place a callat a time that is convenient for her, even though she knows that thecalled party is unable to receive the message in person at that time:she simply leaves a message, and the called party is then free toreceive the message some time later, at his own convenience. A“telephone tag” scenario may result, where a sequence of messages isexchanged by way of voice mail systems, without the people actuallyspeaking directly to one another.

[0008] For people whose jobs involve a great deal of telephone contact,such as executives, salespeople, customer service people, and so forth,the number (and length) of messages that accumulate in their voice mailsystem over the course of a day may be quite large. Similarly, peoplewho are unable to answer their telephone for extended periods (forexample, someone who is on vacation, traveling on business, interactingby phone with people in distant time zones, or simply too busy withother commitments) may build up a large backlog of unanswered messages.The process of listening to all of the accumulated messages cantherefore be quite tedious, as well as time-consuming. If the listener'sconcentration is interrupted during the playback process, it may benecessary to start the playback of a particular message again, requiringeven more of the listener's time and further testing his patience.

[0009] In addition, people who must make a large number of telephonecalls often find the calling process tedious, especially if they areunsuccessful in reaching the called party in person and must insteadleave a message. It would be preferable to provide a way of improvingthe distance communication process for callers and called parties.

[0010] Accordingly, what is needed is a technique that alleviatesdisadvantages in distance communications, providing a more enjoyable andmore productive way for people to communicate by telephone and toexchange voice mail messages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An object of the present invention is to provide a technique thatalleviates disadvantages in distance communications.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide thistechnique by enabling a more enjoyable and more productive way forpeople to communicate by telephone.

[0013] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide thistechnique by enabling a more enjoyable and more productive way toexchange voice mail messages.

[0014] A further object of the present invention is to provide thistechnique by adding contextual information to audio messages.

[0015] Still another object of the present invention is to provide theseadvantages by adding background sound to a voice mail message (or,alternatively, to a telephone conversation).

[0016] Another object of the present invention is to provide theseadvantages by using embedded audio files as voice mail messages orwithin voice mail messages (or, alternatively, within a telephoneconversation).

[0017] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide newmethods of doing business, whereby the sound files to be used during (orinstead of) a voice mail message or telephone conversation can bemerchandised to consumers.

[0018] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be setforth in part in the description and in the drawings which follow and,in part, will be obvious from the description or may be learned bypractice of the invention.

[0019] To achieve the foregoing objects, and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention as broadly described herein, in a first aspectthe present invention provides methods, systems, computer programproducts, and methods of doing business by enhancing voice mailmessages. This technique comprises incorporating one or more selectedbackground sounds with a voice mail message for playback to a listener.In selected embodiments, at least one of the background sounds mayprovide emotional cues for the voice mail message, or may be a themesong associated with a speaker who leaves the voice mail message. Thebackground sounds may be selected in a number of ways, including: by aspeaker of the voice mail message; programmatically by using a defaultbackground sound for the speaker; making a dynamic selection from amonga plurality of background sounds (including random selection); using aprofile associated with the speaker; or based upon an identification ofan intended recipient of the voice mail message. Incorporating thebackground sound(s) may further comprise conferencing the selectedbackground sounds into a 3-way call between a speaker of the voice mailmessage and a receiver thereof Telephone conversations may be enhancedin a similar manner.

[0020] In another aspect, the present invention provides methods,systems, computer program products, and methods of doing business byproviding audio input for voice mail messages and telephoneconversations. This technique comprises inserting one or more selectedaudio files into a voice mail message for playback to a listener. Inselected embodiments, a single audio file may be inserted in the voicemail message more than once, and at least one of the audio files may bean audio signature or a theme song associated with a speaker who recordsthe voice mail message. The audio file(s) may even comprise the entirevoice mail message.

[0021] An apparatus is also disclosed for improving voice mailmessaging, comprising: means for transmitting a voice message from auser of the apparatus to a separately-located recording means; means forstoring one or more pre-recorded sound files on the apparatus; selectionmeans for selecting, from the pre-recorded sound files, one or more of(1) a background sound and (2) an audio file to be transmitted; andtransmission means for transmitting the selection to the recording meansfor use with the transmitted voice message.

[0022] A method of merchandising pre-recorded sound files is defined,comprising steps of receiving requests for selected ones of thepre-recorded sound files for use as background files to be incorporatedwith voice mail messages and/or for use as audio files to be insertedinto voice mail messages, and providing the selected ones, in responseto receiving the requests. In selected embodiments, this method may beimplemented by a for-fee service provider, or by marketing a telephonefor use in improving distance communications.

[0023] The present invention will now be described with reference to thefollowing drawings, in which like reference numbers denote the sameelement throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024]FIGS. 1A through 1F are flow diagrams illustrating how a callermay enhance a voice mail message by selecting one or more backgroundsounds that are offered by a receiving system (such as a voice mailsystem), according to preferred embodiments of the present invention;

[0025]FIGS. 2A through 2C are flow diagrams illustrating how a callermay enhance a voice mail message by selecting one or more backgroundsounds that are provided from the caller's telephone, according topreferred embodiments of the present invention;

[0026]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating how a caller may enhance avoice mail message through use of a predetermined background sound thatis provided from the caller's telephone, according to preferredembodiments of the present invention;

[0027]FIGS. 4A and 4B are flow diagrams illustrating how a caller mayenhance a voice mail message by selecting one or more audio files thatare offered by a receiving system, where these audio files are to beinserted into a voice mail message, according to preferred embodimentsof the present invention;

[0028]FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating how a caller may enhance atelephone conversation by selecting one or more background sounds thatare provided from the caller's telephone, according to preferredembodiments of the present invention;

[0029]FIGS. 6A and 6B are flow diagrams illustrating how a caller mayenhance a voice mail message by sending, from a telephone or callingsystem, a sound file or identification thereof (which may be used inplace of a spoken message, or in addition to a spoken message),according to preferred embodiments of the present invention;

[0030]FIGS. 7A and 7B are flow diagrams illustrating how a backgroundsound or audio file may be obtained for use in a voice mail message ortelephone conversation, where a fee may optionally be imposed by theprovider of that background sound or audio file, according to preferredembodiments of the present invention;

[0031]FIG. 8 provides a flowchart depicting logic with which preferredembodiments may implement playback of a voice mail message; and

[0032]FIGS. 9A and 9B depict examples of data structures that may beused to facilitate implementation of preferred embodiments of thepresent invention.

[0033] DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0034] The present invention improves distance communications which usetelephones. A number of advantages of the present invention are realizedwhen communicating by exchanging voice mail messages, and otheradvantages are realized during person-to-person telephone conversations.The disclosed techniques enable associating additional information,beyond a person's voice and words, or alternatively instead of aperson's voice and words, with a telephone message or conversation.These techniques may be used to provide emotional cues for messages orconversations, thereby supplementing the contextual informationthereof—or perhaps simply improving the listener's perception of themessage or her reaction to the message (or conversation). (Hereinafter,the term “message” or “voice mail message” will be used to referequivalently to telephone conversations, unless otherwise indicated.)

[0035] As an example of how this contextual information supplements avoice mail message, the previously-discussed caller who is angry maywish to leave his message with a background of rolling thunder, orperhaps punctuate his message with the sound of inserted lightningstrikes. Or, a caller may choose to have a personal “theme song” or“audible signature” (where this audible signature, also referred toherein as an audio signature, may be, for example, a few selected barsof her favorite song). In this example, the caller may select herpersonal theme song as the background for her voice mail messages,and/or she may wish to precede (or perhaps end) her messages with heraudible signature. Once the teachings of the present invention areknown, individual callers may use them in a myriad of ways to enhancetheir distance communications through added background and audio files.

[0036] For purposes of the discussion herein, the terms “backgroundsound” and “background file” are used to refer to a sound that ispreferably mixed or blended with a concurrently-spoken message to thelistener. The term “audio file”, on the other hand, is used herein torefer to a sound that is used alone, without concurrent mixing of acaller's voice. (However, an audio sound may be preceded and/or followedby a caller's voice message, where that voice message may or may not beblended with a background sound, according to the teachings disclosedherein.) The term “file” is used hereinafter to refer to sound files(including, but not limited to, music files) that may serve as eitherbackground sounds or audio files.

[0037] A number of different embodiments of the present invention may beimplemented using the teachings disclosed herein. Preferred ones ofthese embodiments will now be described.

[0038] In some preferred embodiments, a telephone caller will be offereda selection of sounds or music files that are available from a receivingvoice mail system (VMS). In this case, the VMS preferably prompts thecaller to select the desired file. The VMS may present a list from whichthe caller makes a selection (for example, with a recorded voice thatstates “press 1 to select Vivaldi's ‘Four Seasons’, press 2 to selectthe crashing of the surf at Half Moon Bay”, and so forth). Or, the listmay be already known to callers of a particular VMS, for example byinstructions on a printed reference card. Or, if the caller's phone hasa display available (such as that provided with a screen phone orWeb-enabled cellular phone), then the VMS may perhaps transmit a list ofselections to the display (for example, using data over voicetransmission; using shared voice and data transmission; using ShortMessage Service, or “SMS”, techniques; and so forth). Other techniquesfor presenting a selection list may be used alternatively. The callermay indicate her selection in a number of ways. As one example, herresponse to the prompting of the VMS may comprise a numeric identifierthat she transmits using the dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) capabilityof a touch-tone-enabled phone or equivalent thereto. Or, her phone mayhave a touch-sensitive display screen, which she presses at anappropriate location to indicate her selection. As still anotheralternative, she may have a phone with programmable keys or buttons,where a particular key is operably associated with a correspondingselection. As yet another alternative, a particular caller may have aphone in which a default selection has been pre-stored, or which isadapted to dynamically choosing a selection in an automated manner(including random selection). Other selection techniques which aredescribed herein, as well as selection techniques that will be obviousto one of skill in the art (such as voice activation using a spokenresponse), may be used as well.

[0039] In other embodiments, the caller may explicitly select—forexample, at the time she is leaving a message—a desired file (or anidentification thereof) that will be sent to the VMS, along with hermessage, without the VMS offering selections. In this case, the caller'sselection of the desired file may be made in similar ways to thosedescribed for responding to the VMS' prompt (such as pressing keys totransmit a DTMF tone, pressing one or more programmed keys or buttons ora touch-sensitive screen, etc.), where these actions may be interpretedby the caller's phone, causing the phone to transmit a file identifieror a recorded file corresponding to the caller's selection. Thetransmitted file may be locally stored in the caller's phone, or inlocal storage that is available to the phone (such as a removablediskette or other media which may be locally attached, or perhapsconnected via a wireless communication network such as a Bluetoothpiconet). Or, with an appropriately adapted VMS, the caller may send anaddress such as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that identifies thestorage location of the file she wishes to use with her message. (URLsmay also be used for offering selections to the caller from the VMS,with reference to the above-described embodiments.) This URL may referto a file stored at the receiving VMS, or perhaps a file that the VMSmust download from a remote location such as an intranet or theInternet. As yet another alternative, a telephone company (“telco”)system may be adapted to detecting the presence of a URL to be used as abackground or audio file, and the telco may retrieve the correspondingfile from its local storage or from a remote location such as theInternet. When URLs are supported, the capability exists to select anddownload background and audio files from a music or sound providerservice (This download capability will be discussed in more detailbelow, with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B.) As an alternative todownloading background and audio files, these files may be playeddirectly from their remote location.

[0040] Furthermore, instead of allowing the caller to, explicitly selecta file while making a call, the caller's phone may be adapted forsending a default file (or an identification thereof) to be used as thebackground or audio associated with this caller's messages. This may beuseful, for example, for callers who wish to use theme songs and audiblesignatures. The choice of default file may be fixed in some cases,either by a phone that provides only one choice or by the caller'sprevious configuration of her phone to use a single default file. Or, aphone may be programmed with multiple files that may be transmitted foruse with the caller's message, where a selection from among thesemultiple files is made dynamically—perhaps in a random fashion, or in apredetermined ordered fashion. A default may be specific, or it may bemore general. For example, the caller's default may be a specific songsuch as Beethoven's “Eroica”, or a more general category such as“anything by Beethoven”. Providing selectable files and/or default filesenables new methods of doing business whereby phone manufacturers,service providers, or after-market services provide phones that areadapted to appeal to particular listeners. For example, a phone may bemarketed with a selection of nature sounds, or a selection of countrymusic songs, or a mix of different types of songs for use as backgroundor audio insertions, or perhaps a collection of “one-liners” by famouscomedians (preferably for use as audio insertions, rather than asbackground sounds). Use of general categories as defaults may be apreferable approach when the caller's phone is sending an identificationof a background or audio file that is to be obtained by the VMS (or bythe telco), rather than sending the file itself, as this approach makesit more likely that the VMS or telco will be able to satisfy thecaller's request and thus provide the desired contextual information forher message.

[0041] As yet another alternative, callers may have an identifier (suchas a short personal identification number, or “PIN”) which is used toidentify particular callers to a phone or phone system. Using thistechnique, a caller may provide his identifier from his own phone orfrom any phone of his choosing, and the identifier may be used to locatehis stored preferences. For example, this technique enables each memberof a household to have their own default background sounds even whenthey call from a single phone or phone number.

[0042] The downloading of audio clips to cellular phones, where theaudio file is used for the ringing tone to notify the phone's owner ofan incoming call, is known in the art. Companies such as “iobox” andSonera (which markets a service known as “Zed”) provide this type ofservice on a pay-per-use basis, where consumers can select to downloadone or more clips to their cell phone for a fee. (Seehttp://www.iobox.com/iobox and http://www.sonera.fi/english/ orhttp://www.ptel.zed.com/html/login/login.html for more information onthese services.) However (to the best of the inventors' knowledge andbelief), these services are limited to provision of ringing tones, anddo not contemplate providing files for use as background or audio foruse with a voice mail message.

[0043] In yet other embodiments, a profile or subscription service maybe used for selecting a file for a particular caller's messages. Forexample, a caller may configure her phone to use a profile such that itselects from among selections that are accessible thereto according to aset of rules or conditions; or, this type of profile service mayalternatively be provided by another entity, such as by the VMS ortelco. As an example of using a profile, a particular caller's messagesmay be augmented with jazz on Fridays, or beach music on Saturdays.Furthermore, embodiments may provide for selecting a file based upon thecalled number, such as providing a selection from The Three Tenors whenthe caller calls her mother, love songs when she calls her husband, andso forth. Or, the caller may subscribe to a service which dynamicallyselects files—e.g. based on preferences that the caller has stored withthis service—or which provides a file (or files) already selected bythis caller. This type of subscription service may be offered by thereceiving VMS or telco, or may be accessed from the VMS or telco inresponse to receiving a message from a particular caller. A profileservice may also be implemented by the receiving VMS or telco. In thiscase, the caller (or her phone) may transmit a caller identifier whichis used to locate a previously-stored profile or preferences file inorder to retrieve the background or audio file for this caller'smessages. Phones may be marketed which are preconfigured (orconfigurable) with a phone identifier as well, such that the phoneidentifier is used when retrieving the background or audio file.

[0044] These embodiments may be used for leaving a message with one ormore background sounds over a spoken message, for enabling the caller toleave an audio-only message (which may comprise more than one differentaudio file) or to insert one or more audio files into a voice mailmessage, and/or for leaving voice messages that combine backgroundsounds and inserted audio files. (In the latter case, the backgroundsound is preferably suppressed or interrupted while the inserted audiofile plays to the listener.) Furthermore, these embodiments may also beused during a person-to-person conversation, if desired. For example, atherapist may choose a soothing background sound for phone conversationswith his patients (perhaps as a substitute for his soothing in-personpersona), or a stockbroker may choose to insert the sound of a cashregister into his conversations with clients (e.g. to convey the contextof successful business dealings). Leaving an audio-only message mayallow the VMS to obtain calling party information in conjunction withthe message. Audio-only messages may be useful in situations where, forexample, the caller gets switched to a person's voice mail system andthen decides to leave an audio message (such as his theme song oraudible signature) since he is unable to complete his person-to-personvoice message. (While prior art systems provide a type of“audio-only”message whereby computerized calling services play a pre-recorded audiofile to a listener or the called party's voice mail, this is a differentcapability than provided by the present invention. This type of priorart system is typically only available to businesses or organizations,rather than to consumers. The present invention, on the other hand,makes audio-only capabilities easily accessible to the consumer, anddoes not require the caller to pre-record anything; rather, the callermay simply make a selection from available choices when using thepresent invention, as will be described in more detail below.Furthermore, the prior art does not teach use of audio only files asaudio signatures, as is described herein.)

[0045] In embodiments where the caller's phone transmits a file to areceiving VMS, telco, or to the called party, the phone preferablycomprises media to store the source file or files (such as memory, flashstorage, or removable storage such as a CD-ROM)—which may be pre-storedwhen the phone is purchased by a consumer, as stated above, or which theconsumer may selectively load onto the phone (from his own music CDcollection, perhaps, or from a subscription service); selection meansfor selecting what to send (which may comprise accepting the caller'sinput in one or more ways, or automatically or programmatically making aselection without the caller's input, as has been described); and meansto transmit the caller's selection to the receiver. The transmissionmeans may be simply the concurrent phone call, whereby the background oraudio file contents may be played as the caller is speaking.Alternatively, the background or audio file contents may be suppressedfrom the caller's hearing: the file can be mixed with the caller'sspeech and transmitted, without being played out.

[0046] As an option to transmitting the file as the caller speaks, thefile may alternatively be transmitted before the caller's message. Insituations which do not involve person-to-person conversation, the filemay even be transmitted after the caller's spoken message, or thetransmission may be intermingled between spoken segments of the message.Transmitting files after the caller has completed his spoken message isparticularly beneficial when a large file, or a file of relatively longduration, is to be transmitted. Furthermore, rather than requiring thecaller to stay on the phone during the transmission, in one embodimentthe phone may be adapted to keeping the connection alive even though thecaller has hung up (or otherwise indicated the end of his phone call),in a manner similar to use of a “hold” button on an office phone of theprior art, and then playing the file for recording by the receiver (andbreaking the connection when the transmission is complete).

[0047] Note that many voice mail systems have restrictions on theduration of a permitted message. It may therefore be necessary totruncate a file to be used as a background sound before (or during) itstransmission. Furthermore, a background file may be of longer (orshorter) duration than its corresponding message (or message segment).Refer to the description of message playback (as illustrated by FIG. 8),below, for a discussion of accommodating background files in thesesituations.

[0048] To optimize the separate transmission of the background or audiofile, its contents may optionally be compressed, using compressiontechniques which are known in the art, in order to reduce the timerequired. The compression capability may be provided by the phone, oralternatively, the phone may transmit files that have previously beencompressed.

[0049] Furthermore, the phone may have the capability for dynamicallyloading new files that may be used in subsequent messages (as mentionedabove). For example, a separate connection (such as a Universal SerialBus, or “USB”, connection) may be provided, whereby the phone isoperably connected to a computer or other device on which backgroundand/or audio files have been stored. This device may then be used totransmit background and/or audio file contents to the phone forsubsequent use with voice mail messages. Phones are known in the artwhich combine voice capability with MP3 sound transmission capability.See, for example, the discussion at http://www.wirednews.com/news/print/0,1294,39271,00.html, which describes a new use for cellphones as portable music-reception devices. However, to the best of theinventors' knowledge and belief, this is an either or approach where thephone may be used as a phone or as an MP3 receiver/player, but not bothat the same time, and the inventors believe that it is not known in theart to enable a caller to selectively combine music files with hisspoken message as disclosed herein.

[0050] In some embodiments, background or audio file content may beprovided at the telco, and mixed into the voice mail message. That is,the caller preferably transmits an identification of a file to thetelco, and the telco locates a file corresponding to this identifier,mixes the file contents with the voice message, and transmits the resultto the called party (or her VMS). Several approaches may be used forproviding this functionality. In one approach, the caller dials aspecial number at the telco, where that number corresponds to a systemthat is adapted for bridging to the proper called party (e.g. using avoice response unit). In another approach, the telco system may beadapted to listen for a command (such as a “*” key pressed during acall), and to invoke a type of specialized 3-way calling feature inresponse whereby the additional “party” conferenced in by the telco isnow the playout of the background or audio file, rather than anadditional voice stream. As yet another approach, the caller's telephonemay be modified to send a triggering signal to the telco, which thetelco system is adapted for receiving and then acting upon. Or, thetelco—which knows the caller's phone number—can access storedpreferences for this caller using that phone number. (In some cases, theVMS may also use this latter technique for obtaining a caller'spreferences.)

[0051] There are also a number of alternative embodiments for the mannerin which a stored voice mail message with associated background file(s)and/or embedded audio file(s) is played back to the listener (i.e. thecalled party). When the caller has transmitted an identification of thefile, but not the contents of the file, then some entity is responsiblefor locating the content, as has been discussed above. Thisresponsibility may be placed upon the receiving VMS, the telco, orperhaps the called party's phone (or, alternatively, one or more suchentities may share the responsibility). The located content must then bemixed with the voice mail message (except in the case of an audio-onlymessage). This mixing may also be performed in a number of differentways. The mixing may be done by the receiving VMS as the message isbeing received and recorded, or by the telco as the caller's message istransmitted to the VMS for recording (e.g. by conferencing a backgroundsound onto the appropriate phone line). Or, the VMS may mix the messageas it is being played to the listener. As another alternative, the VMSmay mix messages at any time between receiving (and recording) thereofand playing the message to the listener. (For example, a mixingoperation may be periodically invoked that will search for storedmessages which have not yet been mixed.) Or, the telco may mix themessage as it is being played for the listener (or at an arbitrary time,if the message is stored at or accessible to the telco), or thelistener's phone may perhaps do the mixing if it is appropriatelyadapted. As yet another alternative, the caller's phone may do themixing, such that the VMS receives an already-mixed message. (In thislatter case, the caller may perhaps explicitly request the mixingoperation, or the caller's phone may be adapted such that itautomatically initiates the mixing.)

[0052] Note that several embodiments described herein requiremodifications to telephones used by the caller and/or the called party,whereas other embodiments localize changes to non-consumer systems suchas the VMS and/or telco. Implementations falling within the first ofthese categories are preferably backward-compatible, such thattelephones which do not implement the techniques of the presentinvention are also supported.

[0053] As an alternative to mixing the file(s) with the recorded voicemail message prior to delivery to the listener, the VMS or telco mayalternatively “mark” the message. That is, a process may be performedthat associates the background or audio file(s) with the voice mailmessage, yet does not physically mix them. The mixing then preferablyoccurs as the message is being played to the listener.

[0054] Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings, which will beused to illustrate operation of preferred embodiments in more detail.

[0055]FIGS. 1A through 1F illustrate how a voice mail message may beenhanced by selecting one or more background sound files to be mixedwith the voice message upon playback to the called party, where thesebackground sound files are selected from choices that are available atthe receiver (i.e. the system with which the caller is communicating).These figures differ in when the background sound file is selected, howmany sound files are selected, and how changes in background sound arehandled by the receiver. Each of these figures will now be described.

[0056] In FIG. 1A, the caller 100 dials a number (which may be thecalled party's number, or perhaps a voice mail service to which thecalled party subscribes), as shown at 102. The call is answered 103 bythe VMS 101, and the message recording starts 104. At some point (in thepreferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1A, at the start of the message,before the caller begins speaking), the VMS prompts 105 the caller forhis background choice. The caller then chooses a background, or choosesnot to use a background, which may be done (for example) by using DTMFtones as shown at 106. (Alternatively, the caller's selection may bemade prior to dialing the called party's number, or before the call isanswered, without waiting for a prompt from the VMS. This pre-selectionmay occur, for example, by use of a default or preference of the caller,or perhaps through an explicit action taken by the caller. It will beobvious how the scenarios depicted in the examples may be modified forsuch alternatives.) The VMS saves this selection internally 107. (Notethat the receiving VMS preferably does not store the sound of the DTMFtones for the called party to hear, but rather stores them for furtherprogrammatic processing.) The structures that may be used for internallystoring this information will be described below, with reference toFIGS. 9A and 9B. The caller then begins speaking his voice message(108), and hangs up 109 when he is finished. The VMS then stopsrecording for this message (110).

[0057] Note that while the example scenarios provided in the figuresrefer to use of DTMF tones and program buttons, this is for purposes ofillustration and not of limitation. Alternatively, any suitabletechnique for supplying input from the caller, including use of voicerecognition by the receiving VMS to interpret the caller's spokenselection(s) or command(s), may be used instead.

[0058] The interactions shown in FIG. 1B are identical in elements 102through 108, whereby the caller 100 initiates the phone call, selects abackground sound in response to a request from the VMS, makes hisselection (which is recorded by the VMS), and then begins speaking. Atsome point after the caller has been speaking his message, he elects tochange the background sound. Preferably, he indicates his desire to makethis change by pressing a predetermined key sequence that sends a DTMFtone as a signal to the VMS, such as the “*” key (as shown at 120 inFIG. 1B). The VMS then preferably prompts 121 the caller again, for hisnew background choice. The caller may now choose a different background,or he may choose to have no background for his upcoming message segment,which is preferably conveyed by using DTMF tones as shown at 122. TheVMS saves this new selection internally (123). The caller then continuesspeaking his voice message (124). He may repeat the process of changinghis background sound more times (not shown in FIG. 1B), if desired, andeventually hangs up 109 when he is finished, causing the VMS to stopsrecording for this message (110).

[0059]FIG. 1C depicts a process for leaving a message with a backgroundsound that is similar to FIG. 1A, but differs in the timing of makingthe caller's selection. In FIG. 1C, the caller 100 first speaks hisentire message (108), and then preferably presses a key sequence thatsends DTMF tones to the VMS to indicate that he would like to select abackground sound (as shown at 130). (Alternatively, the VMS 101 may beadapted to always request selection of a background sound uponcompletion of a message, rather than requiring an explicit input signalfrom the caller.) Upon receiving the caller's indication, the VMS thensends the selection prompt 131, which the caller answers at 132 in amanner similar to that described for FIGS. 1A and 1B. The VMS then savesthe selection (133), and the call ends (109, 110).

[0060] The interactions shown in FIG. 1D are similar to those in FIG.1C, except that the caller elects to change the background sound duringhis message, These interactions differ from FIG. 1B, where the callermade each new background selection before speaking the correspondingsegment of the message: in FIG. 1D, the caller 100 selects eachbackground after he has finished the corresponding message segment.Similar to FIG. 1C, the caller preferably indicates his desire torequest a background by pressing a predetermined key sequence that sendsa signal to the VMS, which is represented in FIG. 1D as the “*” key (asshown at 140). The VMS then prompts 141 the caller for the background tobe associated with the first message segment, which has just beenrecorded. The caller chooses a background, or chooses to have nobackground for this segment (142), and the VMS saves this selection(143). The caller then begins speaking again (144), for the next segmentof his message. If he wishes to change-the background again, before hisvoice message is complete, he again presses the key sequence to send asignal to the VMS, which is followed by the prompting, selecting, andinternal storing steps (not shown in FIG. 1D). Once the final messagesegment has been spoken, the caller may press the key again (145) toselect the background for this final segment. (Alternatively, he mayomit this step in some embodiments, causing the VMS to record a choiceof “no background”.) The VMS prompts 146 the caller for this (final)background selection, which he signals 147 using the DTMF tones. The VMSrecords this selection (148), and the caller then hangs up (109),causing message recording to stop (110).

[0061] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1E, the caller 100 mayselect a background sound at any arbitrary time during recording of avoice mail message. As shown at 108, the caller has already startedspeaking his voice mail message, and at some point decides to select abackground (as shown at 150, again using a predetermined key sequencesuch as “*” to signal the VMS 101 that the caller wishes to choose abackground). As in the previous interactions, the VMS preferably prompts151 the caller for his selection, which is conveyed using DTMF tones(152). This selection is then recorded (153). An implementation of thepresent invention may choose whether the background now selected appliesto the already-recorded message, or to the upcoming message, or perhapsto the entire message. In any of these cases, the caller continuesspeaking (154), and when he is done, the caller hangs up (109) and theVMS stops recording (110). Or, the caller may make his selection 150,152 at the end of his message, in which case he does not continuespeaking. Furthermore, an implementation may provide the capability forthe caller to select a background when none had been selected earlier,and/or to replace a previously selected background (not shown in thefigures), in a similar manner to prior art voice mail systems whichallow a caller to listen to her recorded message, delete, and thenre-record the spoken message.

[0062] The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1F allows the caller 100 toselect multiple background sounds, each requested at arbitrary pointsduring the voice mail message. Again, the caller may press a keysequence such as the “*” key at any time (shown at 150 in FIG. 1F), inthe same manner described for FIG. 1E. The selection process is alsoanalogous to that used for FIG. 1E (and the background selection mayagain apply to the prior or the subsequent segment of the voice mailmessage, or to the entire message, as desired for a particularimplementation of the present invention). (When the changed backgroundis to apply to the entire message, any previously-selected backgroundinformation is preferably overridden or discarded.) Now, however, afterthe caller continues speaking (154), instead of hanging up as shown inFIG. 1E, he may press a different key sequence (shown as the “#” key at160 in FIG. 1F) to explicitly indicate the boundary of a new messagesegment. In response to receiving the DTMF tone corresponding to this“#” key, the VMS 101 now saves a segment marker (161). (A data structurethat may be used to store messages with segment markers is described inmore detail with reference to FIGS. 9A and 9B.). The segment marker maycomprise a pointer or other indicator to where this segment begins.Note, however, that the caller is not selecting a background sound atthis point. Preferably, a segment marker is used to indicate a changefrom using one background file to using another. Or, the background filethat was in effect in response to request 150 may continue across thischange in segments. In the former case (i.e. when the background soundis affected by the segment marker), when the implementation isassociating background file selections with previously-recorded messagesegments, then this is an indication that the message segment that hasnow been ended by request 160 is to use the background selected at 152;or, if the implementation is associating background files with upcomingmessage segments, then request 160 is an indication that the upcomingsegment (which begins at 162 and continues until the caller hangs up) isto use the background selected at 152. The remaining interactions inFIG. 1F are similar to those which have been described for FIGS. 1Athrough 1E. (Segment markers are also discussed in the related invention“recording and Receiving Voice Mail with Freeform Bookmarks”.)

[0063] While not illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 1E, a particularreceiving VMS may choose to provide a multi-tier menu when offeringbackground selections. For example, a first DTMF tone may signal thecaller's choice of easy listening as opposed to hard rock or otheroffered categories; upon receiving this first response, the VMS mayoffer specific selections within that category. In such multi-tierapproaches, a fast-path response may optionally be supported, wherebythe caller (or his phone) enters enough responses (such as multiple DTMFtones or perhaps through recognized voice commands) to navigate morethan one tier of the menu at a time (including supplying a completenavigation path with a single response). It will he obvious to one ofordinary skill in the art how the interactions that have been depictedcan be adapted to a multi-tier approach.

[0064] In the cases where the background is selected prior to the callerspeaking, there is preferably no explicit requirement that the calleractually speaks following his selection. If the caller chooses not tospeak at all, then preferably (1) the corresponding background selectionis not stored in cases where the message has multiple segments (some ofwhich contain a portion of a spoken voice message) or (2) an indicationmay simply be provided that a message was left (or that a call wasreceived) from this particular caller when there is no spoken messagecontent at all. This latter case is similar to the approach taken byprior art voice mail systems, which store the name (and perhaps thecalling number, date, and time) for incoming calls.

[0065]FIGS. 2A through 2C illustrate enhancing a voice mail message byselecting one or more background sound files to be mixed with asubsequently-delivered message, where the selected background files areprovided from the caller's telephone. FIGS. 2A and 2B differ in how manysound files are selected, and FIG. 2C illustrates the processing at thecaller's side of the connection in more detail. Each figure will now bedescribed.

[0066] In FIG. 2A, the caller 200 dials a number (which again may be thecalled party's number, or perhaps a voice mail service to which thecalled party subscribes), as shown at 202. The call is answered 203 bythe VMS 201, and the message recording starts 204. At some point (in thepreferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2A, at the start of the message,before the caller begins speaking), the caller selects a background file(as shown at 205). For purposes of illustration, suppose the callermakes his selection by pressing a “program button 4”. A background filethat is associated with this program button then begins to play (206).Preferably, the caller begins speaking soon thereafter (207), and thebackground sound continues to play until such time as the caller hangsup (208). When the caller hangs up, the VMS also stops recording (209).

[0067] As stated earlier, alternative selection means for the caller toselect his background choice at 205 include use of a touch-sensitivescreen, or perhaps a default background file is programmaticallyselected at 205 without intervention by the caller. And instead ofplaying the selected file, the caller's phone may simply send theselection (e.g. as a compressed file) or an indication thereof (e.g. bysending a selection number or URL). Furthermore, multi-tier selectionsystems (of the type previously described, where one or more tiers ofsound categories must be navigated before selecting an individual file)may be accommodated, in this case, the selection action shown at 205preferably comprises navigating through this multi-tier selection systemuntil reaching a particular file selection (or, alternatively, until thecaller selects a particular type or category as his background choice).

[0068] The interactions shown in FIG. 2B are similar to those describedfor FIG. 2A, except that the caller is now selecting multiple backgroundfiles. As in FIG. 2A, the caller 200 makes a connection (202, 203) tothe VMS 201, and message recording starts (204). In this example, thecaller's first background selection is shown using (by way of example) a“program button 1” (or equivalent selection means), as shown at 210.This background selection begins to play (211), and the caller beginsspeaking (212). At some point during the voice mail message, the callerdecides to change his background sound, and thus in this example hepresses “program button 2”, as shown at 213. This causes the previousbackground selection to stop (214), and the new selection now begins toplay (215). The caller again starts speaking (216), preferably shortlyafter selecting the new background. This process of selecting a newbackground sound, changing the background sound that is being played,and re-starting the voice mail message may be repeated (not shown inFIG. 2B) as desired by the caller. When the caller is finished, he hangsup (217) and the VMS stops recording (218).

[0069] Note that the approach used in FIGS. 1C and 1D, where the callerselected his background choice after leaving the corresponding voicemail message, is not readily adaptable to the scenarios depicted inFIGS. 2A and 2B in which the background selection is played from thecaller's phone along with the spoken message. (However, when abackground file or identification thereof is sent separately from thecaller's spoken message, then background files may be selected for aspoken message or message segment and may be transmitted before, after,or perhaps during the spoken message, as stated earlier.)

[0070]FIG. 2C illustrates the timing and interactions between the caller220 and his phone or phone system 221. (Note that references herein to a“phone” or “phone system” are for purposes of illustration and not oflimitation: devices which provide analogous functions, whether or notthose devices are considered to be a typical phone, may be usedalternatively without deviating from the inventive concepts disclosedherein.) As shown at 222, 223, the phone preferably performs normal(prior art) call setup operations to establish a connection (224) to thecalled party (i.e. to the receiving VMS, which serves as a surrogate forthe called party). (The called party or call receiver has not been shownexplicitly in FIG. 2C. Arrows pointing from the phone system 221 towardthe right of the chart are intended to represent interactions with thecalled party.) The caller selects background sounds (225, 228), and hisphone begins playing a sound file (226, 230) to the called party inresponse. (The sound file may also be heard by the caller, as indicatedby the dashed section of arrow 226.) Furthermore, a change in backgroundsound that is requested by the caller (228) causes the phone to stopusing the prior background sound (229). The caller speaks into his phone(227, 231), causing the phone to transmit his voice to the called party(not shown in FIG. 2C), preferably using prior art techniques. Andfinally, when the caller hangs up (232), normal prior art calldisconnect operations are preferably performed (233) by the phone totake down the connection to the called party.

[0071] While the figures that have been described show the backgroundsound as being selected and starting to play at some particular time,other variations may be provided instead of (or in addition to) thoseshown. For example, rather than waiting for a call to be establishedprior to selecting a background file in FIGS. 2A through 2C, the callermay instead pre-select the background before he dials the number.Additionally, the initial background selection might start to playimmediately after the number is dialed, or when the call is connected tothe receiver, or when a party (such as an automated VMS) answers on theother side of the connection, or perhaps not until the caller beginsspeaking. Alterations to the figures to support these alternatives willbe obvious to one of skill in the art.

[0072] Note that while FIGS. 2A through 2C (and FIG. 5, to be describedbelow) indicate that the background sound “plays” from the caller's sideof the connection, this does not necessarily mean that the caller hearsthe playout of the selection, as was stated earlier.

[0073]FIG. 3 illustrates enhancing a voice mail message by providing adefault or predetermined background sound. This process is similar tothat shown in FIG. 2A, except that now there is no requirement for thecaller 300 to explicitly select his background choice. Instead, hesimply begins speaking (305) after the call with the VMS 301 has beenset up, and the default background plays automatically (306). In ananalogous manner to that just discussed, the default backgroundselection might start to play immediately after the number is dialed,when the call is connected to the receiver, or when a party (such as anautomated VMS) answers on the other side of the connection, or (as shownin FIG. 3) perhaps not until the caller begins speaking. Furthermore,the particular default selection to use may be determined in a number ofways, such as from the single selection available on a caller's phone,or by evaluating conditions stored in the caller's profile, and soforth, as discussed earlier.

[0074]FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate enhancing a voice mail message byselecting audio files that are to be embedded within that message uponplayback to the called party, where these audio files are selected fromchoices that are available at the receiver. These figures differ in howmany audio files are selected by the caller.

[0075] Note that the selections used in FIGS. 4A and 4B are audio files,not background sounds. Often, the selected audio file will be a musicselection. The caller might choose to leave an audio-only message,without any accompanying voice message. Or, the selected audio filesmight be intended for embedding within a voice message, which may or maynot have background sound associated therewith. (FIG. 9B illustrates adata structure that may be used to store these various combinations ofinformation at the receiver. As stated earlier, background sounds andaudio files are preferably not overlaid during playback to the listener,nor are they preferably overlaid on the caller's side of the connectionwhen the files are being delivered from the caller.) In implementationswhere combinations of background and audio files are supported, thecaller might be presented with a selection such as “enter 1 to requestan audio file or enter 2 to request a background file”, when using theprompting approach of FIGS. 1A through 1F; or, when the caller initiatesa selection (such as that shown in FIGS. 2A through 2C, as well as FIGS.4A and 4B and FIG. 5), a separate keystroke sequence or button may beprovided that indicates whether what the caller now wishes to select isa background file or an audio file. Furthermore, fast-path selections ofthe type previously discussed may be provided, such that the caller notonly selects the type of file he will be identifying but also providesthe identification thereof in a single input sequence.

[0076] In FIG. 4A, the caller 400 dials a number, as shown at 402,thereby establishing a call (403) with the VMS 401, and messagerecording starts (404). At some arbitrary time during the voice message(405), the caller requests (e.g. by pressing a key sequence that signalsthe VMS, as shown at 406) to select an audio file for embedding in thevoice message. The VMS thus prompts 407 the caller for his audio filechoice. The caller then chooses the audio file, which may be done byusing DTMF tones as shown at 408 (or he may choose not to select anaudio file, alternatively, by making a null selection using anappropriate key sequence). The VMS saves this selection internally 409,for subsequent playback between the first and second segments of thevoice message. (As in the case of background file selections, thereceiving VMS preferably does not store the sound of the DTMF tones forthe called party to hear, but rather interprets them and may store themfor further programmatic processing.) The caller then continues speakinghis voice message (410), and hangs up (411) when he is finished, causingthe VMS to stops recording (412).

[0077] The interactions shown in FIG. 4B are identical in elements 402through 410, whereby the caller 400 initiates the phone call, requestsselection of and then selects an audio file, with prompting by the VMS(which records the selection), and then continues speaking. At somesubsequent time, the caller requests (420) to embed another audio fileinto his voice mail message. The process for selecting this next file tobe embedded, shown as elements 420 through 423, is identical to thatdescribed with reference to interactions 406 through 409. After theaudio file has been selected, the caller may begin speaking again (424)if desired. Additional audio files may be selected (not shown in FIG.4B) if desired. Once the caller has finished his message, he hangs up(411) and the message recording stops (412).

[0078] While not shown in the figures, the caller may choose to usebackground sounds and audio files within a single voice mail message. Itwill be obvious to one of skill in the art how the figures may beadapted for this situation.

[0079]FIG. 5 illustrates enhancing a person-to-person telephoneconversation between the caller and called party by using backgroundsounds. In the illustrated embodiment, the background sounds aretransmitted from the caller's phone, in a similar manner to that whichhas been described above with reference to FIGS. 2A though 2C and FIG.3.

[0080] In this embodiment, the process begins with the caller 500picking up his phone (502) and then selecting a particular backgroundsound (503) using, for example, a key sequence or a predefined button(shown in the example as “program button 4”). The selected backgroundsound (which may be, for example, the caller's personal “theme song”)may begin to play before the caller dials the number (505) of the calledparty 501. (Or, in alternative embodiments, the background sound maybegin to play after the number is dialed, or while the caller isdialing, or perhaps only after the connection is established or thecalled party answers the call.) Optionally, an implementation mayprovide for use of a default background sound, or a background soundthat is chosen programmatically without intervention of the caller,rather than requiring an explicit selection at 503. When the calledparty answers (506), the caller and called party then begin speaking(507, 508). Preferably, the caller's background sound plays throughoutthis conversation, until the caller hangs up (509), which may occurbefore or after the called party hangs up (510).

[0081]FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate enhancing a voice mail message bysending an audio file (or an identification which can be used toretrieve the desired audio file) to a receiver, where this audio filemay be used to supplement a voice mail message or perhaps as asubstitute for a voice mail message. Preferably, this technique is usedfor audio signature messages (although this is for purposes ofillustration and not of limitation). Audio signatures are preferablychosen by the caller, and may contain the caller's name, a short musicfile, or any other type of sound. An audio signature may be left as amessage when, for example, the signature itself is sufficient to conveyto the receiver that a particular person called. (The signature may alsoconvey additional information, of course, depending on its audiocontent.) An audio signature may be provided with a voice mail message,perhaps at the beginning of the message (or stored separately from themessage) for use in quickly identifying who the message is from. Supposea particular individual has several messages stored in his VMS. He maychoose to listen only to the audio signatures, as a way of “skimming”through his voice mail (in the same way a person skims through hisconventional mail by looking at the outside of the envelopes). Thisprovides a more efficient means of processing voice mail than listeningto messages in sequence, and may also be more efficient than attemptingto skim the messages by listening to the first few seconds of themessage (in those cases where the audio signatures are available and aresufficient for this purpose).

[0082]FIG. 6A illustrates the caller 600 selecting (605) an audio fileto be transmitted from his phone to VMS 601, causing his phone to sendthe identified file (606), which is then saved (607) by the VMS as thevoice mail message. As illustrated in these figures, the caller mayselect the audio file using a sequence of characters, or alternativelymay use other selection means such as a touch-sensitive screen; or, adefault selection may be used, or a selection may be chosenprogrammatically (using, for example, a profile for this caller). FIG.6B is similar, except that instead of sending a sound file, anidentifier (see 610) of the audio file selected (605) by the caller 600is sent to VMS 601, and this identifier is preferably stored (611) bythe VMS.

[0083]FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate ways in which a background sound oraudio file to be used with the present invention may be obtained anddownloaded to the caller's phone or phone system. (As will be obvious,these illustrations are for purposes of illustration and not oflimitation.) In preferred embodiments, the file(s) to be downloaded maybe used with the scenarios depicted in FIGS. 2A through 2C, or in FIGS.3 or 5, as the selectable or default file(s) to be provided from thecaller's phone.

[0084] As shown in FIG. 7A, the download process preferably begins withthe caller 700 dialing the phone number (702) of a system 701 from whichbackground sound and/or audio files can be obtained. The illustratedtechniques may be used, for example, when the caller uses a pay-perdownload service from a system 701, although system 701 mayalternatively provide a subscription service or perhaps a free service.If the service requires payment of a fee, the caller may perhaps have anestablished account, which he uses to pay for his selections. In onepossible model, the caller may be charged a flat rate to download allselections that are available, or in another model, he may be chargedper selection. If the service requires payment of a fee, this fee mayappear on the subscriber's phone bill.

[0085] Note that when fee payment is required when using the presentinvention, the fees are preferably paid by the caller. This includescases where the caller's selection is retrieved by the VMS, for example,using a URL sent by the caller. This is consistent with the “CallingParty Pays” model that is standard in telephony, and is appropriate forthe present invention because in some preferred embodiments, the calledparty has no opportunity to accept or decline receipt of particularmessages or message segments by virtue of their having fee-relatedbackground or audio file content. In alternative preferred embodiments,however, the called party may be given the ability to suppress insertedaudio files during playback and/or background sounds as well, providedthe insertion or mixing has not already occurred. Or, a particular VMSmay be adapted to suppressing such files. This ability to suppressbackground and/or inserted audio files may be provided as a selectableoption on a per-call basis, or may be applied to all calls for aparticular called party, or may be selectively applied based upon acalled party's previously-stored preferences, and so forth.

[0086] After the connection is established (preferably using prior artcall setup techniques as indicated at 703, 704), the caller preferablylogs in (705) to the offered service, after which the system presents amenu (706) from which the caller can make his selection. The caller thenselects (707) one or more files to be downloaded, and the downloadprocess begins (708). In some cases, the caller may be limited to whatis available, rather than having a selection capability; or a selectionmay perhaps be made for the caller based on his previously-storedpreferences. Once the download is complete (709), the caller preferablyhangs up (710) and the connection is terminated (711) using prior artcall disconnection techniques.

[0087] Instead of making a telephone connection to a file provider,files may be downloaded from a remote location such as the Internet.This alternative is illustrated in FIG. 7B, where caller 700 makes atelephone connection to a Web site (represented as system 701). As withFIG. 7A, the service may be a pay-per-download, subscription, or perhapsa free service (which may, for example, obtain its revenues throughadvertising on its menu selection page). Once a menu has been presentedto the caller (706), he preferably selects one or more selections (720)to be downloaded from the Internet. The selections are then located(721), for example by following a selected URL, and downloaded (722) tothe caller's phone or phone system. When the download of Web files iscomplete (723), the caller preferably hangs up (710) and the connectionis terminated (711), as in FIG. 7A.

[0088] In another embodiment, the selection of the file to download maybe made via an alternate device and a network. For example, theselection may be made by the subscriber by using a computer browser toaccess a Web page that provides a menu of selections. In this example,the subscriber preferably provides an identifier (such as a log-inpassword) to a server, selects a file from those offered, and the serverthen communicates to the service infrastructure the digital data to bedownloaded. The download itself may perhaps occur during idle time, orduring a call (or connection) to the service system intended for thispurpose.

[0089]FIG. 8 provides a flowchart of logic that may be used in preferredembodiments to implement the playback of a voice mail message to alistener. This process begins at Block 800, which checks to see if thereare any segments of the current voice mail message that have not beenplayed. If this test has a negative result, then the playback isfinished, and the processing of FIG. 8 ends. (When a message has notbeen divided into segments, then a negative result at Block 800 mayindicate that the entire message has been processed from start to finishin one pass through the logic of FIG. 8.) Otherwise, when the test has apositive result, control transfers to Block 810 where the next segmentof the current message is obtained. (The manner in which the segments ofa message are located will be described in more detail below withreference to the data structures shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B.)

[0090] Block 820 then asks whether a background sound has beenidentified for this message segment. If not, then the message segment issimply played (Block 830), after which control returns to Block 800 tocontinue processing this message. If the test in Block 820 has apositive result, on the other hand (i.e. there is a background sound forthis segment), then the background sound file is accessed (Block 840),and the background sound and voice message are played concurrently(Block 850). As has been discussed, the background sound may beidentified with a URL or other identifier, or it may be provided as thecontents of a file. (Furthermore, the mixing process may have alreadybeen performed prior to playback, in which case the logic of FIG. 8 ispreferably used for that mixing process; the playback then comprisessimply playing the already-mixed file.) After the playing of the currentsegment finishes, control returns to Block 800.

[0091] As previously noted, in some cases the background sound may be oflonger duration than, or shorter duration than, the correspondingmessage segment. When the background sound is longer, it is preferablytruncated once playback of the voice message segment completes. When thebackground sound is shorter, it may be allowed to end while the voicemessage continues to play, or, alternatively, the background sound maybe “wrapped” such that it repeats as many times as necessary until thevoice message segment playback is complete.

[0092] There may perhaps be short breaks in the continuity of a messagethat is created by mixing segments of voice with segments of backgroundor sound files, for example due to the time it took the caller toidentify the associated file or merely because of the change from onesegment to another. However, prior art techniques are available that maybe used to smooth such transitions and minimize dead time withinmessages.

[0093] When the teachings of the present invention are used withconventional answering machines that may not have the capability to mixmultiple audio streams, then the mixing operation is preferablyperformed prior to transmitting the voice mail message to the answeringmachine (for example, by the caller's phone or perhaps by the telco).

[0094]FIGS. 9A and 9B depict example data structures that may be used byan implementation of the present invention. As will be obvious, theseare merely one format in which the information may be stored.

[0095] As shown in FIG. 9A, each message may comprise some number ofmessage segments. Each message segment is preferably stored as a segmentnumber (which may be optional in some implementations), a numericidentifier corresponding to the background file selected for thissegment, and the caller's message, as shown at element 900. Example codethat may be used to support this message structure is shown at elements910, 920, and 930. An upper limit on the number of segments in aparticular message is shown at 910 as having the value 500, for purposesof illustration. The message structure 920 for each segment preferablystores the (optional) segment number and background selection number asintegers, and stores a pointer to a file in which the content of themessage segment is stored (perhaps as a wave file). Preferably, an arraystructure (or a linked list structure) is used as a container for thesegments of a particular message, as shown at 930. If no backgroundsound has been selected, then the background selection number may be anegative 1 or other predetermined value to indicate this situation tothe mixing process.

[0096]FIG. 9B illustrates an alternative approach that may be used whenboth background sound and embedded audio files are supported. Again,each message may comprise some number of message segments, and in thisapproach each message segment is preferably stored as a segment number(which may be optional), a selection type and selection number, and anoptional caller message, as shown at element 940. The selection typeindicates whether the selection number represents a background soundthat is associated with the caller message stored in this segment, orinstead represents an embedded audio file (in which case there ispreferably no caller message for this segment). Example code that may beused to support this message structure is shown at elements 950, 960,and 970. An upper limit on the number of segments in a particularmessage is shown at 950, and again has the value 500 for purposes ofillustration. The message structure 960 for each segment preferablystores the (optional) segment number, as well as the selection type andselection number, as integers. Furthermore, the message structure 960preferably stores a pointer to a file in which the content of themessage segment is stored, where this pointer has a null value forinstances of “msg_struct” that store audio file selection information.As in FIG. 9A, an array structure 970 (or a linked list structure) ispreferably used as a container for the segments of a particular message.

[0097] When background and audio files are identified in other ways thanwith use of numeric identifiers, such as by providing a file address orURL, then the message structures 920, 960 may be adapted appropriatelyin ways that will be obvious to those of skill in the art.

[0098] The segments of a message may be processed (for example, duringmixing or playback) by an in-order traversal of the message array 930 or970. Or, the segment numbers stored within each segment may be used toselectively locate a particular segment. (As an alternative to stoningsegment numbers explicitly, an array indexing operation may be used forthis purpose.)

[0099] Preferably, a new instance of “msg_struct” is created each time achange in background occurs and each time an audio file is to beembedded within a voice message, thereby implicitly segmenting the voicemail message accordingly. In addition, a new instance is preferablycreated when the caller explicitly indicates a change in messagesegments (as described above with reference to element 160 of FIG. 1F).

[0100] Note that the voice mail system may employ a database to containthe voice messages and/or their pertinent information, and the structureof each message and message segment may therefore vary from what isshown in FIGS. 9A and 9B although the basic stored information ispreferably the same.

[0101] While the data structures shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B contemplatestoring the content of each message segment separately from thestructural information (including the identifiers of background andaudio files), such that the files can be dynamically mixed upon playbackto a listener, the stored content may alternatively comprise the resultsof the mixing (although this alternative may have negative performanceimplications, especially in terms of redundant storage that would berequired for background and audio files that were selected for usemultiple times).

[0102] Furthermore, the structure shown in FIG. 9A enables quickdetermination of whether a particular voice mail message has associatedbackground sounds (and/or audio files, when using the structure shown inFIG. 9B). This provides advantages when processing stored messages. Forexample, the background and/or audio content for an individual messagecan be easily suppressed by selecting to omit the associated files. And,when embedded audio files are used for audio signatures, a conventionmay be adopted whereby a first instance of “msg_struct” is used torecord the audio file (if any) to be used as the audio signature; alistener may then choose to skim through her voice messages by playingonly these identified audio signatures. Similarly, a listener may skimthrough voice messages by playing one (or perhaps some limited number)of the audio files for each recorded message, or perhaps by playing oneor more of the message segments (which may have associated backgroundsounds), without imposing conventions on what may be stored therein.Many such advantageous techniques may be implemented using the teachingsdisclosed herein.

[0103] As has been demonstrated, the present invention providesadvantageous techniques to alleviate disadvantages of distancecommunication, for example by conveying context such as emotions invoice mail messages and telephone conversations, and for enhancing theenjoyment and productivity of communicating with voice mail or bytelephone.

[0104] As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, embodiments ofthe present invention may be provided as methods, systems, or computerprogram products. Accordingly, the present invention may take the formof an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment oran embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, thepresent invention may take the form of a computer program product whichis embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, butnot limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and so forth)having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

[0105] The present invention has been described with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or flow diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or flow diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or flows in the flow diagrams, can beimplemented by computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, embedded processor or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer orother programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions specified in the flowchart and/or flowdiagram block(s) or flow(s).

[0106] These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the flowchart and/or flowdiagram block(s) or flow(s).

[0107] The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause aseries of operational steps to be performed on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process suchthat the instructions which execute on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart and/or flow diagram block(s) or flow(s).Furthermore, the instructions may be executed by more than one computeror data processing apparatus, such that some aspects of the presentinvention operate (for example) at a VMS while other aspects operate ata telco, an audio mixing apparatus, or elsewhere.

[0108] While preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed, additional variations and modifications in those embodimentsmay occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basicinventive concepts therefore, it is intended that the appended claimsshall be construed to include both the preferred embodiments and allsuch variations and modifications as fall within the spirit and scope ofthe invention.

We claim:
 1. A method of enhancing voice mail messages by incorporatinga selected background sound with a voice mail message for playback to alistener.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the voice mailmessage comprises a plurality of message segments, and wherein one ormore selected background sounds are incorporated, each of which isassociated with one or more of the message segments.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein a plurality of background sounds areselected to be incorporated with the voice mail message.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein at least one of the backgroundsounds provides emotional cues for the voice mail message.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 2, wherein at least one of the background sounds is atheme song associated with a speaker who leaves the voice mail message.6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step ofinserting a selected audio file into the voice mail message for theplayback to the listener.
 7. The method according to claim 2, furthercomprising the step of inserting one or more selected audio files intothe voice mail message for the playback to the listener.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the selected background sound is selectedby a speaker of the voice mail message.
 9. The method according to claim2, wherein the one or more selected background sounds are selectedprogrammatically.
 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein theselected background sound is a default background sound for a speaker ofthe voice mail message.
 11. The method according to claim 1, wherein theselected background sound is a dynamically-selected choice selected fromamong a plurality of background sounds.
 12. The method according toclaim 2, wherein the one or more selected background sounds aredynamically selected from among a plurality of background sounds thatare available on a telephone or telephone system from which the voicemail message originates.
 13. The method according to claim 2, whereinthe one or more selected background sounds are dynamically selected fromamong a plurality of background sounds that are available from asubscription service.
 14. The method according to claim 12 or claim 13,wherein the dynamic selection is performed randomly.
 15. The methodaccording to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the dynamic selection isperformed using a profile associated with a speaker of the voice mailmessage.
 16. The method according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein thedynamic selection is performed based upon an identification of anintended recipient of the voice mail message.
 17. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the selected background sound is a single selectionthat is available on a telephone or telephone system from which thevoice mail message originates.
 18. The method according to claim 2,wherein the one or more selected background sounds are dynamicallyselected from among a plurality of background sounds that are availableto an apparatus on which the voice mail message is recorded.
 19. Themethod according to claim 2, wherein the one or more selected backgroundsounds are dynamically selected from among a plurality of backgroundsounds that are available from a telephone company system through whichthe voice mail message passes as the voice mail message is being leftfor the listener.
 20. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising the step of transmitting the selected background sound from atelephone or telephone system used by a speaker of the voice mailmessage.
 21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the selectedbackground sound has been compressed prior to the transmitting.
 22. Themethod according to claim 2, further comprising the step of transmittingidentifiers of each of the selected background sounds from a telephoneor telephone system used by a speaker of the voice mail message.
 23. Themethod according to claim 2, further comprising the step of transmittingan address of each of the selected background sounds from a telephone ortelephone system used by a speaker of the voice mail message, whereineach address may be used to locate a file containing a respective one ofthe selected background sounds.
 24. The method according to claim 23,wherein the address is a Uniform Resource Locator.
 25. The methodaccording to claim 12, further comprising the step of loading one ormore new background sounds onto the telephone or telephone system,thereby revising the plurality of background sounds that are available.26. The method according to claim 18, further comprising the step ofloading one or more new background sounds onto the apparatus, therebyrevising the plurality of background sounds that are available.
 27. Themethod according to claim 19, further comprising the step of loading oneor more new background sounds onto the telephone company system, therebyrevising the plurality of background sounds that are available.
 28. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the selected background sound maybe selected using one or more of a dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF)capability of a telephone used by a speaker of the voice mail message; atouch-sensitive display screen of the telephone; automated instructionsstored on or executed by the telephone or a telephone system of thespeaker; a key sequence operated using keys of the telephone; or a voicerecognition capability, which may be provided by a voice messagingsystem which records the voice mail message.
 29. The method according toclaim 7, wherein the selected audio files may be selected using one ormore of a dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) capability of a telephoneused by a speaker of the voice mail message, a touch-sensitive displayscreen of the telephone; automated instructions stored on or executed bythe telephone or a telephone system of the speaker; a key sequenceoperated using keys of the telephone, or a voice recognition capability,which may be provided by a voice messaging system which records thevoice mail message.
 30. The method according to claim 1, wherein theincorporating is performed by conferencing the selected background soundinto a 3-way call between a speaker of the voice mail message and areceiver thereof.
 31. The method according to claim 1, wherein theincorporating is performed during the playback to the listener.
 32. Themethod according to claim 3, wherein the incorporating is performedprior to the playback to the listener.
 33. The method according to claim3, further comprising the steps of: transmitting identifiers of each ofthe selected background sounds from a telephone or telephone system usedby a speaker of the voice mail message; and using each of thetransmitted identifiers to access a stored copy of the respectiveselected background sound; and wherein the incorporating stepincorporates the accessed copies.
 34. A method of enhancing voice mailmessages by inserting a selected audio file into a voice mail messagefor playback to a listener.
 35. The method according to claim 34,wherein the voice mail message comprises a plurality of messagesegments, and wherein more than one audio file is inserted into thevoice mail message, or the selected audio file is inserted multipletimes into the voice mail message.
 36. The method according to claim 34,wherein the inserted audio file provides additional context for thevoice mail message.
 37. The method according to claim 35, wherein atleast one of the audio files is an audio signature associated with aspeaker who records the voice mail message.
 38. The method according toclaim 37, further comprising the step of playing the audio signaturerather than the voice mail message to the listener.
 39. The methodaccording to claim 37, further comprising the step of using the audiosignature to deduce information about the voice mail message.
 40. Themethod according to claim 34, wherein the voice mail message comprisesthe selected audio file.
 41. The method according to claim 34, whereinthe selected audio file is a theme song of a speaker of the voice mailmessage.
 42. An apparatus for improving voice mail messaging,comprising: means for transmitting a voice message from a user of theapparatus to a separately-located recording means; means for storing oneor more pre-recorded sound files on the apparatus; selection means forselecting, from the pre-recorded sound files, one or more of (1) abackground sound and (2) an audio file to be transmitted; andtransmission means for transmitting the selection to the recording meansfor use with the transmitted voice message.
 43. A method ofmerchandising prerecorded sound files, further comprising steps of:receiving requests for selected ones of the pre-recorded sound files foruse as background files to be incorporated with voice mail messagesand/or for use as audio files to be inserted into voice mail messages;and providing the selected ones, in response to the step of receivingrequests.
 44. The method according to claim 43, wherein the receivingand providing steps are implemented by a for-fee service provider. 45.The method according to claim 43, wherein the receiving and providingsteps are implemented by marketing a telephone for use in improvingdistance communications.
 46. A method of improving telephoneconversations, comprising incorporating a selected background sound intoa telephone conversation between a caller and a called party.
 47. Themethod according to claim 46, wherein the selected background sound is atheme song of the caller.
 48. The method according to claim 46, whereinthe incorporating is performed by conferencing the selected backgroundsound into a 3-way call between the caller and the called party.
 49. Themethod according to claim 46, wherein the selected background sound is adefault background sound for the caller.
 50. The method according toclaim 46, wherein the selected background sound is selectedprogrammatically.
 51. The method according to claim 46, wherein theselected background sound is selected by the caller.
 52. A system forenhancing voice mail messages, comprising: a voice mail messagecomprising one or more message segments; one or more background sounds;means for incorporating one or more of the background sounds with one ormore of the message segments; and means for playing the voice mailmessage to a listener with the incorporated background sounds.
 53. Thesystem according to claim 52, wherein at least one of the backgroundsounds provides emotional cues for the voice mail message.
 54. Thesystem according to claim 52, further comprising means for inserting aselected audio file into the voice mail message for the playback to thelistener.
 55. The system according to claim 52, wherein at least one ofthe selected background sounds is selected by a speaker of the voicemail message.
 56. The system according to claim 52, wherein at least oneof the background sounds is a default background sound for a speaker ofthe voice mail message.
 57. The system according to claim 52, whereinthe one or more background sounds are dynamically selected from among aplurality of background sounds that are available on a telephone ortelephone system from which the voice mail message originates.
 58. Thesystem according to claim 57, wherein the dynamic selection is performedrandomly.
 59. The system according to claim 57, wherein thedynamic-selection is performed based upon an identification of anintended recipient of the voice mail message.
 60. The system accordingto claim 52, wherein the one or more background sounds are dynamicallyselected from among a plurality of background sounds that are availableto an apparatus on which the voice mail message is recorded.
 61. Thesystem according to claim 52, further comprising means for transmittingthe selected background sounds from a telephone or telephone system usedby a speaker of the voice mail message.
 62. The system according toclaim 52, further comprising means for transmitting an address of eachof the selected background sounds from a telephone or telephone systemused by a speaker of the voice mail message, wherein each address may beused to locate a file containing a respective one of the selectedbackground sounds.
 63. The system according to claim 62, wherein theaddress is a Uniform Resource Locator.
 64. The system according to claim52, further comprising means for loading one or more new backgroundsounds onto the apparatus, thereby revising the plurality of backgroundsounds that are available.
 65. The system according to claim 52, whereinthe background sounds may be selected using one or more of a dual-tonemulti-frequency (DTMF) capability of a telephone used by a speaker ofthe voice mail message; a touch-sensitive display screen of thetelephone; automated instructions stored on or executed by the telephoneor a telephone system of the speaker; a key sequence operated using keysof the telephone, or a voice recognition capability, which may beprovided by a voice messaging system which records the voice mailmessage.
 66. The system according to claim 52, wherein the incorporatingis performed by conferencing the selected background sounds into a 3-waycall between a speaker of the voice mail message and a receiver thereof.67. A system of enhancing voice mail messages, comprising: one or moreaudio files; a voice mail message comprising one or more messagesegments; means for selecting at least one of the audio files; and meansfor inserting the selected at least one audio file into the voice mailmessage for playback to a listener.
 68. The system according to claim67, wherein at least one of the audio files is an audio signatureassociated with a speaker who records the voice mail message.
 69. Asystem for improving telephone conversations, comprising: means forestablishing a telephone conversation between a caller and a calledparty; and means for incorporating one or more background sounds intothe telephone conversation.
 70. The system according to claim 69,wherein the means for incorporating further comprises means forconferencing the one or more background sounds into a 3-way call betweenthe caller and the called party.
 71. The system according to claim 69,wherein the one or more background sounds are selected by the caller.72. A computer program product for enhancing voice mail messages, thecomputer program product embodied on one or more computer-readable mediaand comprising: computer-readable program code means for selecting oneor more background sounds; and computer-readable program code means forincorporating the selected background sounds with a voice mail messagefor playback to a listener.
 73. The computer program product accordingto claim 72, wherein at least one of the background sounds is a themesong associated with a speaker who leaves the voice mail message. 74.The computer program product according to claim 72, further comprisingmeans for inserting one or more selected audio files into the voice mailmessage for the playback to the listener.
 75. The computer programproduct according to claim 72, wherein the selected background soundsare selected programmatically.
 76. The computer program productaccording to claim 72, wherein the selected background sound aredynamically-selected choices selected from among a plurality ofbackground sounds.
 77. The computer program product according to claim72, wherein the selected background sounds are dynamically selected fromamong a plurality of background sounds that are available from asubscription service.
 78. The computer program product according toclaim 77, wherein the dynamic selection is performed using a profileassociated with a speaker of the voice mail message.
 79. The computerprogram product according to claim 72, wherein a particular one of theselected background sounds is a selection that is available on atelephone or telephone system from which the voice mail messageoriginates.
 80. The computer program product according to claim 72,wherein the selected background sounds are dynamically selected fromamong a plurality of background sounds that are available from atelephone company system through which the voice mail message passes asthe voice mail message is being left for the listener.
 81. The computerprogram product according to claim 72, further comprising means fortransmitting identifiers of each of the selected background sounds froma telephone or telephone system used by a speaker of the voice mailmessage.
 82. The computer program product according to claim 74, whereinthe selected audio files may be selected using one or more of adual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) capability of a telephone used by aspeaker of the voice mail message; a touch-sensitive display screen ofthe telephone, automated instructions stored on or executed by thetelephone or a telephone system of the speaker; a key sequence operatedusing keys of the telephone; or a voice recognition capability, whichmay be provided by a voice messaging system which records the voice mailmessage.
 83. The computer program product according to claim 72, whereinthe computer-readable program code means for incorporating furthercomprises computer-readable program code means for conferencing theselected background sounds into a 3-way call between a speaker of thevoice mail message and a receiver thereof.
 84. A computer programproduct for enhancing voice mail messages, the computer program productembodied on one or more computer-readable media and comprising:computer-readable program code means for selecting one or more audiofiles; and computer-readable program code means for inserting theselected audio files into a voice mail message for playback to alistener.
 85. The computer program product according to claim 84,wherein at least one of the audio files is an audio signature associatedwith a speaker who records the voice mail message.
 86. A computerprogram product for improving telephone conversations, the computerprogram product embodied on one or more computer-readable media andcomprising: computer-readable program code means for selecting one ormore background sounds, and computer-readable program code means forincorporating the selected background sounds into a telephoneconversation between a caller and a called party.
 87. The computerprogram product according to claim 86, wherein at least one of theselected background sounds is a theme song of the caller.
 88. Thecomputer program product according to claim 86, wherein thecomputer-readable program code means for incorporating further comprisescomputer-readable program code means for conferencing the selectedbackground sound into a 3-way call between the caller and the calledparty.